President Trump engaged in an elaborate ruse last month as he faced a threat against his life from Iran, leaving a summit in Turkey via military jet while making it appear he was with reporters and aides on an older version of Air Force One. The deception, a highly unusual case where the press traveling with Trump was misled about his whereabouts, was done because of the seriousness of the threats against the president, according to published reports Monday in The Washington Post, which first reported the account, and The New York Times. It had been known that Trump had traveled aboard an older version of Air Force One from Turkey to Great Britain, and not a newer version of the presidential plane gifted to him by Qatar. That step had reportedly been taken to protect the president. But the new accounts detail a much deeper plan, apparently made on the fly as Trump faced the serious threat.
Trump was seen boarding the old Air Force One jet upon returning from the NATO summit in Ankara early last month. But the Post reported that Trump was secretly shuttled to a smaller plane through an airport catering truck usually used to load metals and other supplies before a flight. The smaller plane was an Air Force C-32A. A U.S. official told the outlet that Air Force One, which had members of the media and White House staff on board, was a “decoy.” The operation was kept hidden from journalists and some staff who believed they were on the same plane as the president. The White House has for weeks maintained that Trump left the NATO summit on the old Air Force One before the president started using the Qatari jet, which he received in June.
Concerns arose about the security features of the jet as reports indicated that the Secret Service advised Trump to use alternate means to leave the summit.
White House communications director Steven Cheung defended the Qatari jet in a statement to the Post saying it has been “fitted with high-level security protocols” ensuring the president’s safety.
“As the President has said recently, there are many enemies of America who have their sights on him, and we use every tool at our disposal to address those threats,” Cheung said.
The secret departure from the summit came just after the U.S. renewed military strikes on Iran as negotiations broke down.
The official told the Post that a credible threat to Trump set the “deception operation” in motion.
Another official said Air Force One has served as a decoy before in the past 30 years because of a serious threat or he was flying to a dangerous location.
TO THE TEST: Trump’sendorsement power is being put to the test today as Republican voters in South Carolina cast ballots for the late Sen. Lindsey Graham’s(R-S.C.) replacement.
Sen. Darline Graham (R-S.C.), who was appointed to serve the remainder of her brother’s term, is running for a full term with the president’s support. But she’s facing multiple opponents who have emphasized their own conservative credentials.
Among her chief rivals are GOP Reps. Ralph Norman and Russell Fry as well as former South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford. A half-dozen other candidates are also vying for the Republican nomination.
Trump hosted a telerally on Monday evening to support Darline Graham, seeking to help get her across the finish line.
“She’s the perfect person to carry on Lindsey’s legacy and, frankly, what I want to do,” Trump reportedly said at the rally Monday.
The rally took place on the same day the Pentagon officially renamed an air base in South Carolina after the late senator.
Darline Graham has promoted her support from Trump and her conservative views since being appointed to the Senate.
Her opponents have gone after her experience, arguing she is not as qualified to be in the Senate and that she has her position because she is Lindsey Graham’s sister.
“Look, the United States Senate is no place for on-the-job training,” Fry said last week during a debate among the candidates. “I didn’t inherit a record. I earned it.”
The argument could carry weight given Darline Graham’s background.
While Darline Graham was often by Lindsey Graham’s side throughout his decades-long career, she hasn’t previously served in elected office. Her only experience in public office is serving as a member of the South Carolina Commission for the Blind.
Darline Graham has defended herself from the GOP criticism, citing her state government experience and the past few weeks she’s held the Senate seat.
“Trust me, I have learned a lot already, so I think I have experience,” she said Saturday.
Another problem for Darline Graham? Concerns from the party’s right flank about her conservatism, particularly as she faces opponents with considerably longer records advocating for conservative values.
Such criticism is not new to the Graham family, as conservative skepticism about Lindsey Graham festered for years.
Right-wing critics zeroed in on his reputation as a war hawk, particularly his steadfast support for Ukraine and Israel, along with his willingness to cross party lines on certain occasions, working with Democrats on immigration reform and sometimes voting for Democratic judicial nominees.
Appliance repair executive Mark Lynch sought to challenge Lindsey Graham in the Senate primary earlier this year over his foreign policy record but was easily defeated by the incumbent. Lynch lost to Graham in the June primary by nearly 30 points, though the incumbent only managed to win about 57 percent of the vote.
Lynch is now running in the special primary Tuesday.
Darline Graham has broken with a few of her brother’s positions, saying she would support abolishing the filibuster to pass the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE America) Act. Lindsey Graham previously warned against the impacts of eliminating the filibuster.
She has also distanced herself from the late senator’s hawkishness, indicating her focus would be more on improving affordability than on foreign policy.
If no candidate wins a majority of the vote on Tuesday — a prospect that seems likely given the large number of candidates in the race — a runoff would be held in two weeks, on Aug. 25.
Polling has suggested Darline Graham should easily make the runoff but could fall considerably short of the majority needed to avoid it. The most recent public survey from the right-leaning pollster Quantus Insights showed Darline Graham in the lead with 33 percent support.
A larger question is which other candidate may also make a runoff. Norman and Fry have been most consistently competing for second place in polls, and they were tied in the Quantus poll at 20 percent each.
Sanford has followed with polling mostly in the teens, while the other candidates are in the single digits.
The margins between the candidates may be the key indicator to watch as results come in tonight. If Graham can get at least close to a majority, she may be in a strong position to clinch victory later this month.
But if her support only stays in the 30s, that could give an opening to whoever else advances to pull off an upset, even without the president’s support.
▪ The Hill: Progressives face latest test in Midwest.
▪ Politico: Will Darline Graham face the same fate as Pamela Evette?
▪ The Hill: Cook Political Report shifts Max Miller seat to toss-up.
VACCINE SWITCH UP: Trump signed an executive order aimed at revamping the childhood vaccine schedule, calling for the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) shot to be split up and administered across different visits.
Separate vaccines for the three diseases are not available in the U.S. and public health officials have expressed concern that spacing out the vaccines could increase the risk that children become infected with the illness in between visits.
The president also directed the Department of Health and Human Services to improve vaccine safety research, drawing unsubstantiated connections between vaccination rates and autism.
“Effective immediately, my administration is recognizing gold standard childhood vaccine recommendations for only 11 core vaccinations against the most serious and dangerous diseases, along with the MMR, which hopefully will be split up,” Trump said in the Oval Office.
States, not the federal government, set their own vaccination requirements for schoolchildren. The order advises states to consider updating their mandates to reflect the new recommendations. The Hill’s Nathaniel Weixel reports that many states have lost faith in the Trump administration’s vaccine guidance and no longer follow the federal government’s recommendations.
Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), a medical doctor who chairs the Senate’s health committee, said splitting up the vaccines will make people less safe by requiring “more shots to get the same protection, not fewer shots.”
“I’m a doctor. This executive order is wrong. The President does not have the expertise to make these changes. Vaccines are overwhelmingly safe. Vaccines are effective. Vaccines DO NOT cause autism,” Cassidy wrote on the social platform X, adding, “Parents should listen to their child’s pediatrician about vaccines rather than listening to an inaccurate executive order.”
Cassidy supported the new director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Erica Schwartz, only after the Louisiana senator said he was confident that she understood the importance of reassuring the public that vaccines are safe and do not cause autism.
▪ The Hill: Cassidy blasts vaccine order.
▪ The Hill Insider: RFK Jr. aims to close FDA loophole that allows new chemicals.
ESCALATING IRAN DEMANDS: Trump added to the uncertainty over the prospect of a peace deal with Iran, issuing new demands for reparations from Tehran to compensate those who died during the conflict.
The new ask follows Iran’s demand over the weekend for the U.S. to “completely compensate” Iran for damages from the war, lift sanctions and “unconditionally” release frozen assets. Iran’s weekend demand also would require the U.S. never to threaten Iran again, permanently end the war, lift the naval blockade and withdraw its military.
“I see that Representatives of the Islamic Republic of Iran are asking for compensation for the damage done to them during the last five-month Military Conflict (started because, THEY WILL NOT HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON), even though it was never mentioned in any of our negotiations or meetings!” Trump wrote on Truth Social Monday.
The president called reparations an “interesting idea” and said he would start “demanding compensation from Iran, for all of the people that they have killed and gravely wounded with their roadside bombs and many conflicts.”
▪ The Hill: The Memo: Mideast troubles press in on Trump.
▪ The Hill: Iran’s steep demands threaten to derail strait reopening.
▪ The Hill: Trump extends Jones Act waiver to help lower energy prices.
SEALING THE DEAL: Todd Blanche was formally sworn in as permanent attorney general Monday following a contentious confirmation battle that saw the Senate approve his nomination by just one vote.
Trump aide Margo Martin posted a video of Blanche’s swearing-in in the Oval Office on X.
Blanche has led the Justice Department since April, when he took over as acting head for former Attorney General Pam Bondi. His path to becoming the permanent head faced skepticism from some key Republican senators, whom he won over in part by withdrawing an order creating the $1.776 billion “anti-weaponization” fund for alleged victims of political prosecutions.
But other parts of the president’s controversial settlement with the IRS remain active, and Trump also raised doubts about whether the fund is actually still alive.
“That’ll be up to Todd Blanche,” Trump told reporters when asked Monday.
▪ The Washington Post: Blanche faces pressure from Trump, skeptical courts.
▪ The 19th: Jeffrey Epstein survivors say DOJ has failed them.
SWEEPING RECALL: Taylor Fresh Foods is issuing a sweeping recall of numerous salsas, dips, guacamole and other products sold in more than two dozen states after reports linked jalapenos peppers to a multistate outbreak of salmonella.
Federal investigators have said the Mexico-based supplier Coast Citrus Distributors may be responsible for the peppers, and Taylor Fresh Foods said it is “no longer sourcing products from this farmer” in a statement recalling the food products.
Taylor Fresh Foods — the parent company of Taylor Farms, which was linked to the iceberg lettuce suspected of being responsible for the recent cyclosporiasis outbreak — recalled products sold in 26 states at major retailers, including Target, Trader Joe’s, Walmart, Whole Foods, Kroger, Hannaford and Stop & Shop stores.
The company said the products were recalled over concerns about salmonella contamination but that there have been no reported illnesses so far linked to its products. Other companies have also been affected — including Chipotle and Qdoba, which were among the first to pull its peppers from several restaurants last week.
At least 345 people in 27 states have gotten sick from the salmonella outbreak, with Colorado and Minnesota accounting for nearly two-thirds of the total number of cases, according to government data.
